Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona

Ramon Berenguer III "the Great" of Barcelona (11 November 1082-19 July 1131) was the Count of Barcelona from 1097 to 1131, succeeding Berenger Ramon II of Barcelona and preceding Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona.

Biography
Ramon Berenguer was born on 11 November 1082 in Rodez, County of Toulouse, France, the son of Ramon Berenguer II of Barcelona and Matilda of Apulia. He became Count of Barcelona in 1086 in joint rule with his uncle Berenguer Ramon II of Barcelona, and he became the sole ruler eleven years later, when his uncle died. Ramon Berenguer succeeded in uniting almost all of the Catalan counties, and he conquered Barbastro and Balaguer from the Moors; in 1114 and 1115, he allied with the Republic of Pisa for attacks on the Muslim islands of Majorca and Ibiza. The two islands became tributaries of Barcelona, and several Christian slaves were freed in the raids. In 1118, he captured and rebuilt the city of Tarragona, and in 1127 he signed a commercial treaty with the Republic of Genoa. On his death in 1131, he had Catalonia given to his son Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Provence to Berenguer Ramon I of Provence.